New frame of mind with artwork

Nothing warms a room more than artwork. Whether we're asked to put the finishing touches on a room or on a whole house, the single largest category we find lacking is artwork. Most of our clients have small, individual pieces of art they have collected on their travels. It is rare to find a series or collection of like paintings or prints that can be grouped together.

When we first started doing makeovers, we were amazed at how much blank wall space there was in most homes. Were clients afraid to put a nail hole in their newly painted walls...their fresh wallpaper...their expensive faux finishes? The truth is that most clients simply don't have enough to fill the wall space.

Some clients feel that art is very personal and that they must somehow relate to it. This is all well and good, but what to do in those intervening years while waiting for the perfect painting? When doing a makeover on a home, we first hang all of the clients' artwork. We place their art in spaces where it is shown to its best advantage; then we fill in the blanks with artwork from our inventory. Our inventory runs the gamut from inexpensive prints or reproductions to original oils by artists with biographies. One living Impressionist, whose paintings we have placed often, is represented in several American museums. We also have a large inventory of hand-colored antique engravings we purchase on European buying trips. In addition, we have a large selection of limited-edition reproductions that are exclusive to our business.

Our philosophy is that we should hang art where something should be placed. When the clients eventually find that major painting for the living room mantel, they can move our artwork to a less prominent place. In the interim, the house is finished and well decorated.

One client of ours had worked with a local designer who did an excellent job with fabrics, wallpaper, upholstered furniture and carpets. Butter yellows and soft greens created a soothing palette, but the room lacked the warmth that only artwork can provide. We hung a large Impressionistic painting of a city park over the sofa and flanked it with candle sconces. To the right of the window at the far end of the room we stacked a pair of early 19th Century antique engravings. Over the mantel, we placed a pair of hand-colored botanicals side by side. A few needlepoint pillows on the sofa, a new pair of lamps and...Voila! A new room.

In general, there are three recurring combinations of artwork we often place over a sofa. If there is an important large single piece of art, it can go either over the mantel or the sofa. If very large, it usually fits better over the sofa. To keep it from being a boring lone rectangle, we usually build out on either side of it using candle sconces, plates on brackets or even a pair of smaller horizontal engravings stacked on either side of the larger piece of art.

Since the space over any sofa is usually rectangular and horizontal, the objective when building the wall out with artwork and/or decorative objects is to mimic the shape. Two large vertical prints hung side by side will create a rectangle. So will six or eight engravings in a series hung either three over three or four over four.

If a large single painting or oil is hung over the sofa, hang two or three vertical prints over the mantel--all of equal size, or a large one in the center with matching smaller ones on either side. If a series of paintings was hung over the sofa, use a large single work of art over the mantel... always remembering that the design of the mantelscape adds extra dimension in and of itself.

We always lay out all of the artwork in the house before we hang anything. It's like a big jigsaw puzzle. If you don't have enough artwork, at least try to finish one or two rooms rather than scattering your art all over the house.